Book binding



Oct. 17, 1950 p -u ps 2,526,270

BOOK BINDING Filed June 29, 1946 2 Sheets-Sheet 1.

, FIG. -1

by v

Oct. 17, 1950 E. PHILLIPS 2,526,270

BOOK BINDING Filed June 29, 1946 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 10 4 5 9 V 6!filzauwauvmfimmvlgmt gji?m anaxmmez mnai 1 9 6 5 9 2 FIG-5 fRA/l/YPH/LL/PJ IN v5 m-oa Patented Oct. 17, 1950 Erwin Phillips, New York, N.Y., assignor of onehalf to John V. Clarke and Eva Clarke, jointly,

New York, N. Y.

Application June 29, 1946, Serial No. 680,409 In Great Britain April 22,1946 4 Claims.

The present invention relates to a boo k-b-ind- I ing method, and theproduct thereof as disclosed in the following specification and claims,reference being had to the accompanying drawings. Ordinarily, books aremade up of a number of sections, sometimes called signatures. Eachsection is formed of from two to thirty-two leavesf which, when laid oneon top of another and folded across the narrowest dimension, make up asection having from eight to one hundred twenty-eight consecutivelynumbered pages of reading matter. In the production of books on alargescale, each section is usually printed as one large sheet and thenfolded in such fashion that when the folded edges, except the centerfold, are cut, the pages of reading matter will be in pro er order inthe section. The sections thus formed are then assembled in proper orderand the component leaves stitched along the section fold, securing oneleaf to another within each section, and. by continuing the stitchingfrom one section to another, uniting the several sections into acomplete book.- Occasionally the leaves of each section are heldtogether by means of staples through the center fold, the severalassembled sections being stitched or even additionally stapled togetherto form the book.

After havin been assembled the book is then trimmed, rounded, andbacked. The latter two steps determine the finished shape of the bookand provide for accommodation of the front and back cover members bymeans of the shoulders or ledges formed in the backing step. As part ofthe backing step it is .usual to apply a, reinforcing material, such asa loosely woven, heavily 'starched cotton cloth material, knownvariously as super, leno, crash, etc., over the folded edge portionsof'the assembled sections, bymeans v of a glue which when dry isrelatively hard and inflexible.

Although a book bound in the usual manner is fairly substantial anddurable, if properly done, it has several defects which cannot beavoided. The binding described above is naturally stiff and inflexible,and may be broken unless the book is'opened and held properly. Also,dueto the thickness resulting from the assembly of the leaves in foldedsections, and the increased bulk caused by the stitching or staplingsteps, it is not possible to open such a book so as to have the pageslie flat, or the book remain open naturally at any desired place.Furthermore, it is not possible to include illustrations which extendover more than one page without interfercnce or distortion when-viewed.

It is an object of the present invention to avoid these deficiencies ofthe usual book-binding, and to reduce the number of individual,precision steps which have been necessary previously. In the preferredmethod, according to this-inven tion, the need for assembly of leaves insections,

the stitchin of sections, and of section to'section, and the steps ofrounding and backing of the assembled book may be eliminated or greatlysimplified. I It is contemplated, however, that where desired, theconventional method of forming the book sections as described above maybe employed, with the final assembly. and binding of such sections toform the finished book accom plished in accordance with the presentdisclosure. Some of the advantagesof the invention may be thus obtainedwithout the necessity'for departing entirely from customary procedures.

It is also an object of the invention to provide a book-binding which isflexible and not easily broken by careless handling, and further toprovide a book which may be opened to lie flat at any page selected,permitting double page illustrations without distortion, or interferenceas a 7 result of the method of binding.

Another objectof the invention is to provide a case covered book inwhich the case is entirely rigid when the book is'closed and which, whenthe book is open, will lie flat-and offer no interference tomanipulation of the pages of the book which is contained by the case.

These and other objects of the invention may be fully understood fromthe followin specification when read in conjunction with theaccompanying drawings in which:

Fig. 1 is a cross sectional view from the head or foot of a bookproduced and bound in accordance with the invention.

Fig. 2 is an end view of the book and case when closed.

Fig. 3 is a cross sectional view from the head or foot of a modifiedform of a'book produced "in accordance with the invention.

Fig. 4 is a cross. sectional view of the book of V cover of a bookproduced in the usual manner.

Thebacking board '3 should be substantially equal A stiffened back of 3in width to the thickness of the book. The numeral 4 designates thecover material for the book boards to complete the case with the coverpapers 5.

As shown in Fig. l, the elements I, 2 and 3 are disposed in spacedrelation, one to the other, and joined together by means of the covermaterial 4. The spacing of these elements is critical in the obtainingof a cover which will close properly to form acase having asubstantially rectangular shape, as shown in Fig. 2. The spaced relationof elements I and 2 to. element 3 is determined by the thickness of thematerial of which they are formed. In every instance this spacing mustbe substantially equal to the thickness of the material used forelements I, 2 and 3.

As illustrated, the book, composed of pages 6 and end papers I is boundby means of a thin strip of a tough flexible, and resilient material 8applied to the inner edge portion of the book and secured thereto bymeans of a flexible, resilient adhesive material. Such an adhesive maybe substantially non-drying and have the characteristic of permanenttackiness. In any event, it is desirable that the adhesive retain aflexibility and resiliency similar to that of the binding material 8.

To secure the book in the case therefor, deformable hinge members areprovided. In the embodiment illustrated by Fig. l, the hinge members areformed by lateral extension of the binding material 8 to such extent asto provide two hinges, each having two leaf portions 8a and 8b, thelatter of sufficient width to permit adequate engagement with the coverboards I and 2 respectively, to which they are secured adjacent therespective inner edges thereof. The cover papers 5 are extended at theinner edges sufficiently to provide a portion 5a, which may be joined tothe hinge leaf portions 811 and 8b as reinforcing therefor. Preferablythe end papers I are secured to the inner leaf portions 8a and theextensions 5a of cover papers 5 as shown.

In the embodiment illustrated by Fig. 3, the hinge members are separateelements havin leaf portions 96: and 9b, the portions 9b being securedto the cover boards i and 2 in the same fashion as the portions 3b inFigure 1. In this embodiment also, the binding. material 8 is preferablyextended to provide a hinge leaf portion 8a which is secured to andencloses the portion 9a of the separate hinge member. The separate hingemember may be formed from any flexible and deformable material whichwill resist damage by extensive flexing'and deformation in use. As inthe embodiment illustrated by Fig. 1, the hinge leaf portions 9a, arepreferably secured to the face of end papers I, with 'or without aninterposed stiffening element H of paper, cardboard or the like.

Where the hinge leaf portions 8a or 9a are not attached to the endpapers 1, the lateral dimensions of the hinge member are to'berecognized as being of critical importance in the proper operation ofthe assembly. In order that the juncture of the leaf portions may alwayseX- tend toward the outer edge of the book when the book is closed, andto permit proper manipulation of the book pages without interferencefrom the hinge leaf portions when the book is open, it is essential thatthe lateral width of each leaf portion 80: and 8b, or 9a and 92), be notless than one-half the product of. the thickness of the book times thesquare root of two and preferably not more than equal to the thick- Iness of the book.

In Figs. 4 and 5, the relationship of the several elements when the bookis opened at the first page, as in Fig. Fl, and at approximately thequarter mark, as in Figure 5, are illustrated. As shown, the case at alltimes lies fiat and is entirely undisturbed by manipulation of the bookpages, and by reason of the hinged construction offers no interferencewith such manipulation. From the illustration provided in Fig. 5 theflexibility of the binding 8 is demonstrated, showing the manner inwhich it is adapted to be folded back on itself to permit the exposedand opposite pages to provide a substantially fiat and uninterruptedviewing or writing surface.

In assembling the book and case such as illustrated by the drawings, thecomponent pages of book, whether as individual single pages, foldedleaves, preassembled sections or otherwise are brought together andstacked so that the inner edges or binding portions are in properalignment, and the individual pages in proper order. The stack is thenfirml compressed to a minimum thickness, and a coating of a nonhardeningadhesive material is applied in a thin film over the inner edge portion.This adhesive should have such characteristics when set as to beflexible and resilient, and may be non-drying or permanently tacky.Various plastic and synthetic compositions may be found suitable foruse, especially film forming materials, without limitation other thanthat the stated characteristics are obtained.

, Following application of the adhesive, the strip of binding material 8is centered and applied over the adhesive to the inner edge portion ofthe assembled book, and pressure may be applied to obtain completeadhesion. If desired, a binding material may be used to which previouslyhas been applied a pressure sensitive, permanently tacky adhesive. Asindicated above, it is preferred that the strip of binding materialextend beyond the book at either side of the inner edge portionsufiiciently to provide a means for securing or forming the hingemembers utilized in joining the book to a hard bodied case or cover withthe portions 8b and/or 8a formed as extensions of the binding material8.

In the event that the assembl illustrated in Fig. 1 is to utilized, thebook is then secured to the case by securin the outer leaves 8b, as withan adhesive, to the elements I and 2 respectively. The cover papers 5are then applied, with the portion 5afolded over and secured to thehinge leaf portions 841 and ,-8b, and then the inner leaf portions Baand5a are glued to the outer surface of the end papers '1. The assembly ofthe modified embodiment illustrated in Fig. 3 is accomplished in asubstantially similar fashion, the hinge leaf elements 9a being securedto the extended binding material portion 8a and the elements 9?) to thecase elements I and 2 respectively, with the cover papers 5 appliedthereafter. As indicated above a stiffenlllg member It may or may not beinserted between the hinge leaf members 9a before secured to the outersurface of the end papers 1. I

Obviously, many modifications of the assembly procedure and of theseveral elements may be made without substantial departure from theinventive concept as disclosed. For example, a book bound in accordancewith the invention y b e ployed with a flexible, 9 soft-ewe t) ratherthan the hard-bodied case illustrated, and described above. In suchinstance the use of hinges to join cover book would not be essential,and it would be possible to apply a soft cover by gluing its backportion directly to the binding material by means of an adhesive havingthe same characteristics as that used for the binding. Also h i-bodiedfront and back covers connected by a flexible backing terial may be usedin a si iar manner. The principal requirement in either event would beto maintain the feature of a highly deformable binding such as has beendisclosed and specifically illustrated by 5.

The invention having been described with reference to specificembodiments, and the methods as applied thereto, is not to be consideredas limited by any such description or illustration presented merely forthe purpose of providing an understandin of the invention, and it iscontemplated that the invention shall be 1iirited only by the scope ofthe appended claims.

What I claim is:

l. A case covered book, comprising a book having a flexible resilientbinding, a hard-bodied case for said book including hard-bodied frontand back cover members, and a hard-bodied back portion, all ofsubstantially uniform thickness, laterally spaced one from another alongtheir adjoining edges by a dimension substantially equal to theirthickness and flexibly joined by deformable hinge means, including anouter cover material for said case, and means for mounting said book inthe case, whereby the leaves of said book may be turned substantiallywithout interierence from the case when opened flat, including front andback hinge members extending longitudinally of the book and case, eachhinge member having a stiifened leaf portion secured to an inner edge ofsaid book, and a deformable leaf portion secured to an inner edge of anadjoining cover member, the juncture of said hinge leaf portionsextending toward an outer edge portion of said book at all times.

CII

6 2. A case covered book according to claim 1, in which said leafportion of each hinge member secured to the inner edge of said book isstiffened solely by face to face attachment of said leaf portion to anend paper of said hook over the entire surface of said leaf portion.

3. A case covered book according to claim 1,- in which said resilientbinding for the book extends laterally beyond the inner edge portionsthereof, and is attached in face to face relation with at least thestiffened leaf portions of the respective hinge members, over the entiresur-- face thereof. 7

i. In combination with a case covered book of the character described ameans for flexibly mounting a book in a hard-bodied case, comprisingfront and back hinge members extending 10ngitudinally of the book andcase, each hinge member having a stifiened leaf portion secured to aninner edge of said book and a deformable leaf portion secured to aninner edge of an adjoining cover member, the juncture of said hinge leafportions extending toward an outer edge portion of said book, at alltimes, each of said hinge portions being of a lateral dimension equal tonot less than one-half the product of the thickness of the book timesthe square root of two, nor more than the thickness of the book.

ERWIN PHILLIPS.

orrnio The following references are of record in the file of thispatent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS

